I have made a habit of reading one chapter of Proverbs every day. Since there are 31 chapters of Proverbs, I can read the entire book 12 times in a year by reading the remaining chapters on the last day of the shorter months. Anyway, after having done this for a little more than a year now I have discovered that God the Father reveals His feminine attributes in this often puzzling book. The first nine chapters in particular repeatedly refer to Wisdom in the feminine gender. In chapter one verse 20 Wisdom is referred to as “she” and this pattern continues throughout the first nine chapters. “Wisdom calls aloud outside; She raises her voice in the open squares, She cries out in the chief concourses…She speaks her words…” and on and on it goes. Now I can be a little slow on the uptake, and this slipped by me for quite some time before I began to notice, and realize that the Scriptures are revealing something special about our Father in these chapters. Even though the references to Wisdom as “she” and “her” diminish here and there, the inference remains throughout the first several chapters.
I particularly love chapters eight and nine; and verses 22-36 of chapter eight just highlight and confirm my thesis that God the Father has revealed His feminine tenderness and care in this passage. Wisdom has been a part of God from the very beginning of creation. Chapter 8:22 says of Wisdom “The Lord possessed me (wisdom) at the beginning of His way, before His works of old.” That's a long time, and it sounds to me like "She - Wisdom" has always been there as a part of God's being.
This has caused me to wonder about how seriously we men consider the advice of our wives. I know that I have too often opted to follow my own instincts rather than the advice of my wife only to discover that she was right all along, and if I had just listened to her “wisdom” I would have been much better off. Do you suppose there could have been something more in that rib God removed from Adam’s side? Perhaps it was more, much more than just flesh and bone. Perhaps the wisdom of a man was contained in that tiny transplanted piece of our anatomy – that would give a whole new meaning to the phrase in Genesis 2:18 when God said “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” It seems to me that we should reconsider the meaning of the passage in First Corinthians 3:18-20 which says: “Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness…”
Now I want you to know that I publish this message with some hesitation knowing that my wife will be reading it. But I believe it is wise for all of us to search the scriptures carefully to find application for our individual lives, and to take more seriously the advice of our mates. God has put us together for a reason. So why short-change ourselves by not working together as one, combining our gifts, opinions, and yes our wisdom to reach the goal that our Heavenly Father has ordained for us. So don't be a wise guy! When you go home tonight, try sitting down with your wife and say “Honey, what do you think about…?” Then listen carefully!
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